Innovation continued economic importance

The scientific community can only hope that policy makers and society as a whole will come to recognize that support of the scientific enterprise is absolutely crucial to continued economic prosperity. Of course, scientists can help shape the course of events by communicating to others their deeply held convictions. The materials chemistry community can argue strongly for this point of view because the results of that scientific effort are often closely and demonstrably linked on a fairly short time scale to important new industrial processes and products. In large measure, this is due to the fact that the hallmark of the discipline is its dependence on a mixture of basic and applied research and on interdisciplinary borrowing. These characteristics - coupled with intense personal motivation — lead to high levels of scientific innovation. 

Mainly due to economic and political reasons, fast reactor development has slowed down. However, some Member States (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation) continue the development of this technology. Moreover, recent international initiatives (INPRO, Generation IV International Forum) have clearly reaffirmed the importance of fast neutron spectrum systems in ensuring that innovative reactors and fuel cycles will meet sustainability criteria with regard to both natural resources and radioactive waste management. 

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